Dirty Dozen Blog Hop

Join me in welcoming Wade Kelly to the blog as part of the GRL DirtyDozen blog hop!

12 Days | 12 Authors | 12 eBook giveaway

BE SURE TO READ TO THE END FOR ENTRY INTO THE GIVEAWAY!

Let’s start with the Author Q&A then I’ll tell you where you can stalk Wade and share her latest release.

DIRTY DOZEN Q&A WITH WADE KELLY!

Amy Wasp – What is your favorite trope to write and why? I guess “virgins” because I like the aspect of new discovery and innocence. And if you have a broken virgin and a savior to swoop in and save him from the pain, all the better!

Jeff Adams – what’s your favorite part of the writing process and why? Hitting my head against the wall. Is that an answer? … Although that isn’t very helpful. I like the spark of a new idea and the energy involved as it grows and develops into something I can share with readers instead of only having the characters in my head. planning and discovering that first kiss. Oh, gosh, I love that.

TM Smith – What inspires you to write? Real life shit. Years ago it started as a way to make someone smile with a story I wrote for a friend. But over the years, it has developed into something deeper and more personal. There is waaaaay to much crap out there that affects people in really big ways, not all of them good. No matter how much shit I get for writing gay romance, I CANNOT step away from telling stories that reflect the world I see. I write what I know, what I see, what I experience as a human, and this human feels deeply for the marginalized LGBTQ part of society. It hit the closest to my heart when a friend committed suicide in 2013. Five years and his absence is still there as the world goes on. If I stopped speaking, perhaps my life would be easier, but at what cost? I’ve struggled for the past 8 years, worse in the last 3, with writing a genre that many people don’t understand. WHY? Why do you write that? Wouldn’t it be easier to write sci-fi? Sure, maybe, or maybe my inspiration would die. Maybe my sci-fi characters would be bland because my passion is in the injustice of the world. Maybe my talent is a means through which God speaks? It’s that age-old asked question “What would Jesus do?” I think Jesus would treat the LGBTQ crowd as people, not trash. I think He’d weep at the number of suicides and bashings and be outraged that something so beautifully made as a human being would be beaten down and treated like offal over sexual orientation. I write because my friend Josh can’t. He’s dead. But there are hundreds, thousands even, out there just like him who need hope and healing and I want to write that. I want to write hope.

AE Via – What career would you have if you never would’ve published your first book? Housewife. Although, I’m still that as I write. I’m a writer, a bowler, a housewife, and I work in a bowling alley. Maybe I’d end up here anyway, even if I hadn’t been published.

Lynn Michaels – How do you balance being original and giving the readers what they expect/want? Learning the hard way, really. When a manuscript is rejected because it doesn’t “fit,” then you have to ask why. Romance pretty much demands a HEA or HFN. If I leave readers hanging they get mad. If I kill a beloved character, they get mad. It’s the nature of the genre. But, if I take my character and throw him into the pinball machine that is my brain, then he comes out with my flavor all over him. I don’t write strictly predictable books. I don’t have a first kiss on page 80, sex on page 165, tragedy on page 216, and resolve it all by 283. No pattern. My brain is a pinball machine, and I have been described as being a hurricane. You can’t put the two together without being original. And listening to what the readers want and giving it to them helps a lot. That’s why I’m writing about Rob next! Readers want Jock 4, and they will get it. Just not sure when.

JR Barten – What have you done as a writer that you are most proud of? Touched a man’s heart. Probably more than one, and women too, but if I picked ONE thing and ONE person, it’s the one who read When Love Is Not Enough and told me how it helped him heal from past wounds, even ones he’d forgotten he had. If I can reach into someone so deep, into parts they forget they had, then I am doing something meaningful and that’s what I want. When Love is Not Enough was my first book and it’s painful and deep. Not a book for everyone, and certainly not one to jump into without knowing it will hurt. Yet, I’m most proud of that book because it made a difference to that ONE person.

Morningstar Ashley — What genre and trope would you like you write that you haven’t yet? Interesting question as I haven’t really thought about that before. Mystery, probably. IDK. I LOVE reading cops and killers and wondering who done it, but I haven’t written one of those. And a good Rocker book would be cool! I have an idea for one of those. We’ll see when that one gets written. Love me a good rock band!

Alexa Land – What are you working on now, and when can your readers expect it? JOCK 4. The title is up for debate in my head, but it’s Rob’s book. Currently, I’m tossing around But I’m Not a Jock, Dang It! I’ve been working on this one for years, as far as when to expect it, I don’t know. I’m trying, is all I can say.

Deanna Wadsworth – How do you come up with your character’s names? Names are the hardest part for me because I feel like I attach myself to the name, and when it fits I can’t let it go. Which for me means that once I pick a name for a character in a book, I can’t suddenly decide to use it somewhere else, even when that one book isn’t written yet. I have a Jesse in my head. He’s got a book so if I use the name Jesse, then you bet it’s probably the same character in another book. I have an Alex and a Shane and a Tony, and a Richard. I can’t reassign those names. The worst for me is when I’m stuck on a name because I feel like I can’t move forward until I know who he is! The name to me is who he is, even if the saying is “what’s in a name…” I HAVE TO KNOW, and I get a feeling for his traits by how that name makes me feel. I have favorite names, and have discovered I wrote 3 different Nick’s. I also have two Joey’s. How did that happen? They were in early books and some not published. I also LOVE the name Jake. I have for many years. I haven’t written anyone worthy of that name yet. I will eventually, but that name remains sacred for the time being.

K-Lee Klein – Do you usually have only one project on the go or do you multitask between stories? Normally one, yes. Though I have to say lately I have way too much in my head t once so I have been jotting down notes for other stories even if I haven’t jumped in and started writing them.

Jessie Gin – What do you think makes a good story? Something that can make me feel. Laugh, cry, scream, ache. If I’m moved in some way, then that’s the best kind of story.

Wade Kelly – What is your suggestion or piece of advice to new and upcoming authors? I will answer myself, lol… JUST KEEP WRITING. Don’t give up. Writing is difficult, but losing hope is worse. Believe in yourself. If rejected by publishers, then ask WHY. Don’t give up. Find a good editor to help you, but don’t give up your passion.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Wade Kelly lives and writes in conservative, small-town America on the east coast where it’s not easy to live free and open in one’s beliefs. Wade writes passionately about controversial issues and strives to make a difference by making people think. Wade does not have a background in writing or philosophy, but still draws from personal experience to ponder contentious subjects on paper. There is a lot of pain in the world and people need hope. When not writing, she is thinking about writing, and more than likely scribbling ideas on scraps of paper at the bowling alley where she works. She likes snakes, can’t spell, and has a tendency to make people cry.

STALK – I MEAN FOLLOW – WADE ALL THESE PLACES!

READ WHEN LOVE IS NOT ENOUGH BY WADE KELLY

A six-year downward spiral into a world of lies and deception leads to the end of one man’s life when self-discovery crosses the line between being the perfect son or following his heart.

Jimmy Miller never intended to lead a double life starting the day he fell in love with Darian, but his parents’ divorce, fighting in school, and constantly keeping secrets for his closeted best friend and protector, Matt, force his hand. Jimmy finds the demands too great to withstand and ends it all prematurely, leaving behind an angry best friend and a shattered lover.

Matt and Darian cling to one another in the aftermath of their loss, forging a new friendship immediately tested by the truths of their relationships with Jimmy that are hidden in the pages of Jimmy’s journals. Will Matt and Darian discover what truly happened to their friend? And will this tragedy birth something beautiful between them as they learn the balance between life, family, and friendship when love is simply not enough?